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Palm confirms webOS 1.3.5 to launch at CES 2010

Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein confirmed the device maker is poised to release version 1.3.5 of its webOS mobile operating system during the forthcoming Consumer Electronics Show 2010, which starts Jan. 7 in Las Vegas. Speaking during Palm's investor conference call last week, Rubinstein said webOS 1.3.5 will enable users to download and store more applications, enhance app and WiFi performance, and improve battery life as well as device speed and responsiveness.

"We have an aggressive webOS software roadmap in place and we'll continue to deliver enhancements to our user experience on a regular basis. This includes investing heavily to make webOS a preeminent development platform," Rubenstein said, according to PreCentral.Net. "At CES in January, we'll be celebrating Palm's move out of its early access program and showcasing our full production developer program and the many ways Palm in innovating in this area. We clearly recognize that having a critical mass of apps is important. Today, the Palm App Catalog has over 800 apps from our early access partners. Almost 10 times the number of apps we had in our last earnings call. After we open the door to all interested developers, we expect to have thousands in very short order."

Rubinstein also touted webOS as a platform uniquely positioned to leverage the migration of content and communications to the cloud. "In particular, our over-the-air software update capability is a powerful way to continue to evolve and improve our products even after they're in customers' hands. Since the launch of the Pre, we've provided eight over-the-air webOS updates and each has included a wide variety of new functions, improvements, and fixes--ranging from things like support for new Synergy partners such as LinkedIn and Yahoo to improvements in email and messaging to enhanced security measures for the enterprise. Our 1.3.1 update was made available to webOS users in mid-November and within just one week it was installed by 70 percent of our userbase. This tells us that consumers are quickly learning to appreciate and look forward to this Palm capability."

In related Palm news, the company said its Ares mobile application development platform is now in open beta, promising a complete set of integrated software creation tools hosted entirely within the browser in an effort to reduce the barriers restricting web programmers from shifting their attention to the mobile segment. Writing on the Palm Developer Network Blog, Palm Developer Community manager Chuq Von Rospach notes that Ares features a drag-and-drop interface builder, a robust code editor, a visual debugger and built-in source control integration. Ares is optimized for Safari version 4 and higher, Chrome version 3 and higher and Firefox version 3.5 and higher.